Community art needs more appreciation

The importance of art is an integral part in the development of each human being.

Art is everywhere and in everything we do.

Our job as a community is to nurture the creativity of people, so that art is continued to be made and projected.

The thing about art is that it is so diverse that there are as many different ways to understand it as there are people. By taking advantage of the different art classes, exhibits, poetry readings and concerts we can all partake in the enjoyment of different forms of art.

Downtown Pomona is right outside of campus and has several hidden gems designed to exhibit different forms of art.

For example, the dA Center for the Arts that has provided a multi- disciplinary avenue for self- expression for over a decade for Pomona and its surrounding communities. It is located close to Second Street and is filled with paintings, drawings and clay figures. The other side of the building has a stage surrounded by paintings and drawings that are used during poetry readings.

They have life drawing and painting classes that allow you to draw the human figure at your own pace. There is a Saturday painting studio where they provide you with instructions and different techniques in acrylics and a Thursday drawing class where they help students explore drawing and portfolio prep and open clay workshops where they make tiles, coil pots, figures and vases.

Not only that, but they offer literary workshops, like the dA Write Club, where participants write and bounce ideas off each other. It is a great place to meet other people and get to know the core of Pomona. It’s a place where anyone can go and attend these classes or just enjoy the art that fills the building.

If you don’t want to go into town, Cal Poly Pomona constantly has events where everyone is welcomed to watch performances and students can showcase art and take art classes.

We have the Kellogg Gallery that serves students, faculty and staff by bringing diverse and multicultural exhibitions to campus. The Kellogg Gallery utilizes its close proximity to Los Angeles as a resource in presenting timely and engaging exhibitions of Contemporary Art in a variety of contexts.

Even if you do not want to go and enjoy these events or attend these classes you can always get a pencil and a scratch piece of paper and start drawing or an instrument and start playing.

Take pictures, color, sing or write, but remember to continue nurturing our creativity. Because yes school and grades are important, but to keep us sane we also need to keep our creativity intact and constantly growing.